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2018 Year-In-Review: 10 Most Talked About Stories Of The Year

The final days of 2018 are upon us and with it, we look back at the year that was. As with any look in the rearview mirror, there are some things that appear to be bigger than others. The same goes for stories during the course of each year. Over the course of 12 months there are plenty of heartwarming, crazy, weird and just generally conversation starting stories that crop up. While you rest up in preparation to send 2018 out with a bang, take a look back at 10 stories that had us talking in our offices this year.

The 2020 presidential race is likely to begin in earnest once the calendar flips to 2019, as candidates will start to further establish themselves as potential players. For Oprah, an L.A. based company didn’t even wait that long to put her name out there, as the clothing line “I Am Gay” erected a billboard near the freeway with “Oprah For President” on it just two weeks into 2018.

The #MeToo movement was in the news plenty this year, and it had an effect on the way people act in the office according to this survey. CareerBuilder’s annual Valentine’s Day survey saw a five percent drop in workers who admitted to dating a co-worker in 2018.

With children seemingly becoming more exclusive with their friend groups, there was a movement this year to force kids out of their comfort zone a bit and widen their circle of friends. No schools specifically banned close friendships, but the idea of pushing kids to expand their social circles popped up more than once this year.

The Austin bombings were just one of many tragic events this year, and they certainly had the nation’s attention. It wasn’t just the tragic aspect that captured attention, but also for the way kids across the country responded to this incident and others with marches and demonstrations.

One of the weirder stories of the year, the explosions didn’t cause any injuries, but did cause quite the scare in Bucks County, PA. In the end, police arrested a pair of suspects in connection with the explosions and the investigation continued into November.

This story was on the lighter side, showing what interaction between the police and their community can be. The officer’s flashy dribbling skills and the young man’s reaction made for one of the most viewed videos of the year.

Several parts of this story made it a highly discussed one in the office this year. First, a 10-year-old broke a record originally set by Michael Phelps at the same age. Secondly, that 10-year-old’s name was legitimately Clark Kent. Phelps has seemed superhuman to many of us who have watched the Olympics over the years and here was a young man with the name of a superhero’s alter-ego breaking one of his records.

The largest wildfires to ever strike the state of California raged for 17 days in November and caused over $9 billion worth of damage. The impact of the fires is still being felt with the communities still attempting to rebuild. There were both heartwarming and tragic stories that emerged from the devastation, making the fires one of the most talked about stories of the end of 2018.